John Henshaw

Henshaw was born one of 12 children. He grew up in Ancoats, Manchester's "Little Italy" community. He was a refuse collector for ten years before deciding to become an actor at the age of 40.

His first big break in acting was as a minder to Robert Lindsay's character Michael Murray in the acclaimed Channel 4 series, G.B.H. Other TV credits include The Royle Family, The Visit, Life on Mars, whilst film credits include the Steve Coogan comedy The Parole Officer, the Bert Trautmann biopic The Keeper, and the Ken Loach films Looking For Eric and The Angels' Share. Henshaw is chairman of the 24:7 Theatre Festival, an annual festival of new writing for theatre based in Manchester.